© 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.Cisco ConfidentialCisco Days SDV 1 Switched Digital Video (SDV) Overview Robert Kidd Subscriber Network.

© 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco ConfidentialCisco Days SDV 1

Switched Digital Video (SDV) Overview

Robert Kidd

Subscriber Network and Applications Engineering


Switched Digital Video

Business Drivers and Viewership Dynamics


Why Switched Digital Video?

Powerful bandwidth management tool

Decouples bandwidth from offered content

Works on existing MPEG-based set-tops

Fully supported on existing S-A set-tops

Enables new programming offerings

Premium, ethnic tiers – enables “the long tail”

Transparent to consumers

More choice - no change in viewing experience

Improves visibility to consumer demand

Provides detailed viewership data

Can be used to enhance targeted advertising

A key component of Next Generation Networks


HDTV is penetrating the mainstream market

HD programming is expanding

14-18 HD channels in most major markets today

DirecTV by 2007 will offer 150 national channels in HD and 1,500 local broadcasts

Dish adding 7 new HD channels on February 1, totaling 25 HD channels

More niche networks launching HD (MTV just launched; HGTV and Food Network launching HD programming by mid’06)

Consumer purchase of HD televisions on the rise

Roughly 40% of U.S. homes to have 1 or more HD televisions by end of 2007

Prices of HDTV sets continue to decline

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50

100

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300

350

400

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Analog TV sets

HDTV sets

283M/16M HDTV

Only 6-7 M televisions connected to HD Service

(2.6 TV per HH)

353M(2.8 TV per HH)

256M

96M

TV sets in US HH (mil.)

Source: Kagan, 2005, CEA, S-A Estimates

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1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Analog TV sets

HDTV sets

283M/16M HDTV

Only 6-7 M televisions connected to HD Service

(2.6 TV per HH)

353M(2.8 TV per HH)

256M

96M

TV sets in US HH (mil.)

Source: Kagan, 2005, CEA, S-A Estimates

$100K+23%

Under $25K21%

$50K-$75K19%

$25-$50K22%

$75K-$100K15%

HH Income ofHDTV owners

Source: Forrester's Consumer Technographics ™ Q2 2005 North American Survey


Example: DirecTV has suggested that “niche” content is helping to drive their growth

“…our PARA TODOS product added 120,000 net subscribers in the quarter…”

“We now have 700,000 subs in the PARA TODOS package, that is double where we were at the beginning of ’04.”

Source: May 2, 2005 DTV – Q1 2005

The DirecTV Group, Inc. Earnings Conference Call


Another niche experience: Dish Networks now offers extensive international programming options

African

ABN America - $14.99/mo.

Armenian

Armenia TV - $14.99/mo.

Arabic

15 channels - $39.99/mo.

Al Jazeera Kuwait TV

Chinese


Farsi


French

3A Telesud - $14.99/mo.

German

Polish

1 channel - $14.99/mo.

Greek


Israeli

Israeli Network - $19.99/mo.

Italian


Japanese

TV Japan - $25.00/mo.

Korean



Portuguese Russian South Asian Tagalog Urdu

TV Globo - $19.99/mo. 2 channels - $24.99/mo. 6 channels - $49.99/mo. 1 channel - $14.99/mo. 3 channels - $34.99/mo.

The high price of these offerings demonstrates the value to niche consumers.



Switched Channels Everyone could get

their own special channels: increased

appeal of overall package to ALL

subscribers

Broadcast Channels

Next 10

5-10 Viewers

Next 30

1-5 Viewers Next 200+

< 1Viewer

Typical Viewership at a node

Top 4

>30 Viewers

Au

die

nc

e

Broadcast Channels

Current Analog & Digital Broadcast Approach

Only the most popular channels are offered due

to capacity constraintsUnused

Capacity

SDV Drives a Paradigm Shiftin Bandwidth Management

“The Long Tail”

Within any service group, NOT every channel is watched all the time


Switched Digital Video Will Enable Cable Sites to Deliver More Content Than Ever Before, While Using Existing Hardware

Headend Hub

Headend Hub

Today’s Broadcast System

Our Switched Digital Video (SDV) System

Service Group

Service Group

All Programs Are Broadcast to All Subscribers All the Time

Programs Are Transmitted to a Service Group Only When a Subscriber in That Group Is Actively Watching Them

SDV Sends Programs to Subscribers Only in Areas Where Programs Are Being Requested in Real-Time


Potential Bandwidth Gains with SDVTraditional Broadcast

with Statistical MuxSwitched Digital Video

200

ProgramsOffered

17QAMs

HFCBandwidthRequired

300

ProgramsOffered

25QAMs


200

ProgramsOffered

6-8QAMs


300+

ProgramsOffered

nQAMs


Bandwidth scales as number of

channels offered

Immediate bandwidth

savings

HFC bandwidth scales based on viewership

HFC bandwidth required is

independent of number of

offered channels

MSOs can save bandwidth by delivering programs based on viewership


Viewership RankingCumulative Viewership Seconds - Saturday

0.00E+00

5.00E+07

1.00E+08

1.50E+08

2.00E+08

2.50E+08

3.00E+08

264 254 244 234 224 214 204 194 184 174 164 154 144 134 124 114 104 94 84 74 64 54 44 34 24 14 4

Program Rank, Most Popular to Least Popular

Cu

mu

lati

ve V

iew

ersh

ip (

Sec

on

ds)


Peak Usage Over Time - SaturdayService Group GC10 - 1108 Tuner

Unique Stream Usage over Time - SaturdayService Group GC10 - 1108 Tuners

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Time

Un

iqu

e S

trea

ms

264 non-VOD Unique Streams Bottom 100 non-VOD Unique StreamsBottom 200 non-VOD Unique Streams Bottom 150 non-VOD Unique Streams

GC10 Peak for 264 Channels is 138

GC10 Peak for the lowest ranked 200 Channels is 79



Scientific Atlanta


Peak Usage vs. Service Group SizePeak Usage vs. Service Group Size - Saturday

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Service Group Size (Tuners)

Pea

k U

sag

e (S

trea

ms)

1 thru 50 1 thru 100 1 thru 150 1 thru 200 1 thru 264

Fit - 1 thru 50 Fit - 1 thru 100 Fit - 1 thru 150 Fit - 1 thru 200 Fit - 1 thru 264






Scientific Atlanta


SDV Gain vs. Offered Programs

Gain vs. Offered Programs - Saturday

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0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Number of Offered Programs(Ordered from Least Viewed to Most Viewed)

Gai

n (

Nu

mb

er o

f O

ffer

ed P

rog

ram

s / P

eak

Usa

ge)

Scientific Atlanta

500 Tuners

1000 Tuners



An Open Architecture


SA Switched Digital Video Status

HistoryTWC re-engaged on IP-based approach – late ‘04

TWC Issued RFP for IP-based architecture - in April ‘05

Cross-vendor “tweaks” to spec completed - April-July ‘05

Specifications and open protocols published – July ’05

Functional end-to-end system in S-A lab – October ’05

StatusSA first to market with the TWC “Phase II” SDV solution

TWC Albany – Multiple hubs provisioned, deploy to friendlies this week

TWC Oceanic – Design complete, switching on test hub in the headend

TWC Rochester – Design in process

SR 4.2 beta code installed at multiple TW sites and at other MSOs

SDV Production Installations and Beta Trials also underway at other MSOs


BulkEncryptor HFC

Network

Open IP Architecture for Switched Digital Video

Settop withSDV

Client

VideoContent

IP Network

MiniCarousel

ControlIP Network

Video Sources

Channel Change

Message

SessionBinding

GroomedVideo

IGMP Join

Out-of-BandChannel

In-BandChannel

Server Interactive Session Request

EncryptedMulticast

Video

StagingProcessor

SDVServer

MasterSRM

EdgeQAM

QPSK

ContentSources

SDVManager

Management& Provisioning

ShellSessionSetup

Open Interface Specification

Video Content

Management

All interfaces are open and published Separates server from switch

• Based on IP Multicast• Separates switch from QAM

VODPump

Enables QAM Sharing


SDV Equipment Typical Rack Elevation

MAJOR ALARM

MINOR ALARM

CW

GQAM MODULATOR MODEL D9479

FREQ LEVEL CW OPTIONS ENTER RF SEL

PowerK EY

GQAM 1 (VOD/SDV)

P ow er E dge1650

D LLE SDV Server 1 (primary)

P ow er E dge1650

D LLE SDV Server 1:8 (backup)

NetCrypt Model 9671 Primary

Digital Content ManagerStaging Processor. Primary

MRV LX-4032S, VPN Terminal ServerPOWER

RUN/LOAD

RESET

MINOR ALARM

MAJOR ALARM

NetCrypt Model D 9671-1

ALARM

MAIN PS

BACKUP PS

Digital Content Manager D9900DCM

MRVIn-ReachLX Series

242322212019181716151413121110987654321---

484746454443424140393837363534333231302928272625

-

Communications

MAJOR ALARM

MINOR ALARM

CW



PowerK EY

GQAM 2 (VOD/SDV)MAJOR ALARM

MINOR ALARM

CW



PowerK EY


MINOR ALARM

CW



PowerK EY


MINOR ALARM

CW



PowerK EY


MINOR ALARM

CW



PowerK EY


MINOR ALARM

CW



PowerK EY


MINOR ALARM

CW



PowerK EY


MINOR ALARM

CW



PowerK EY


MINOR ALARM

CW



PowerK EY


MINOR ALARM

CW



PowerK EY


MINOR ALARM

CW



PowerK EY


MINOR ALARM

CW



PowerK EY


MINOR ALARM

CW



PowerK EY


MINOR ALARM

CW



PowerK EY

GQAM 15 (VOD/SDV)

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NetCrypt Model 9671 Backup

Digital Content ManagerStaging Processor. Backup

POWER

RUN/LOAD

RESET

MINOR ALARM

MAJOR ALARM

NetCrypt Model D 9671-1

ALARM

MAIN PS

BACKUP PS

Digital Content Manager D9900DCM

Hub Equipment

This Elevation supports approximately:

12000 DHCTs plus 25% Growth15000 Tuners (25% DVR penetration)30 Service Groups (500 tuners max per

Service Group)15 GQAMs (8 frequencies per Service

Group)

Headend Equipment


2) Reserve 37 for VOD

2) Join multicast for SDV ch8

DNCS w/App-Independent

Session and Resource

Manager (SRM)

GQAM

VODPump

0) Channel change

to SDV ch8 (HD)

3) SDV ch8 (HD)

-3) Give me 36x 625kb/s sessions

-6) set up CBR SPTSIP unicasts to Netcrypt

-1) Take sessionIDs 1-36 on GQAM X

-2) Reserve sessionIDs 1-36

“shell sessions” for SDV

1) Use sessID 12 for HD-SDV ch8incl: actual bit rate andmulticast addresses

4) SDV ch8

1) Buy VOD“Movie”

3) Send VOD “Movie”to GQAM X

4) “Movie”5) “Movie”

6) “Movie”

ServerInteractiveSessRequest/response

“Movie”37

Headend

SDV / VOD Session Setup Messages

DCMStaging

Processor

2) MiniCarousel

SDV ch8 (HD)12

SDVManager

-4) Provision SDV Servers

-5) set up multicast

CF sessions on Netcrypt

-5) DNCS sendsSourceIDs, multicast

addresses,bit rates

to SDV Manager

2) Tune toGQAM X

DNCS 4.2Master SRM

SDVManager

SDVServer

Netcrypt

DCMStaging

Processor

Hub


QAM Sharing Better utilization of

QAM resources

Lower probability of blocking with less combined overhead

Better network resiliency with larger QAM pool

Planning by aggregate demand

No stranded capital

Available Capacity For BW Request



Lower Blocking

Probability

Improved Service

Availability

X


QAM Carriers RequiredWith and Without QAM Sharing

Bottom 150 Broadcast and VOD Channels - SaturdayService Group GC10 - 1108 Tuners

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Time

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eam

s

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Active VOD Streams Bottom 150 non-VOD Unique StreamsQAMs Bottom 150 (w/o Sharing) QAMs Bottom 150 (w/ Sharing)

QA

Ms

Scientific Atlanta


SDV Network Redundancy

N:1 Server BackupUp to 8 servers backed up by a single server for high availability and hitless upgrades

IGMPv3 Source Specific Multicast (SSM)Redundancy of network attached devices (Netcrypt, encoders, and DCM)

Mini-carouselProvides in-band tuning information in cases where out-of-band communication fails


1:n Redundancy SDV Server Redundancy

State Data

State Data

State Data

State Data 1

State Data 2

State Data n

Database Synchronization Protocol - Database transfer - Change of state indications - Heartbeat

........

Primary Server

1

Primary Server

2

Primary Server

n

Standby Server


Source RedundancyUsing IGMPv3 Source Specific Multicast (SSM)

GQAMRouter

Source 1

Source 2

Source 1Multicast X

Source 2

Multicast X

Source 1Multicast X

Program X

Pgm X OKPgm Check

GQAMRouter

Source 1

Source 2Source 2

Multicast X Pgm X BAD

GQAMRouter

Source 1

Source 2Source 2

Multicast X

Source 2Multicast X

Program X

Pgm X OK

JoinSource 2for Program X

Pgm Check

Pgm Check

1) Nominal

3) Recovery

2) Fault


Mini Carousel SDV Server:

Updates mini carousel dynamically

Sends mini carousel to SDV client over IP multicast

Multicasts mini carousel update even if reverse path is impaired or congested

SDV Client:

Checks mini carousel to see if channel is available

Alternative, fast tuning mechanism if channel is already available on switched tier

Ability to tune available channel even if reverse path is impaired or congested

Mini Carousel provides resiliency in the event of a reverse path outage or congestion


SDV Session Resiliency

Bandwidth ReservationPrevents fragmentation of bandwidth across multiple carriers

Bandwidth Reclamation of Idle SessionsUser-defined timeouts for marking available sessions

QAM Re-assignmentSessions on failed QAMs will be re-assigned based on active viewers


• Session and Resource Manager (SRM) must manage QAM bandwidth intelligently to reserve enough contiguous BW for HD

In the example below*, all QAMs in the service group are filled to a point where there is more than enough total bandwidth available for the requested HD stream, but no single QAM has enough contiguous bandwidth.

SD

HD

QAM 1 QAM 2 QAM 3 QAM 4

Requested Streams:

HD streamBlocked!

Bandwidth availablefor SD stream

Narrowcast Modulators feeding one Service Group

* Note: Any bandwidth can be requested.Standard Definition (SD) and HighDefinition (HD) are shown in the example only for simplicity.

Bandwidth Management and Resource Reservation


Bandwidth Management and Resource Reservation

QAM 1 QAM 2 QAM 3 QAM 4 QAM 1 QAM 2 QAM 3 QAM 4 QAM 1 QAM 2 QAM 3 QAM 4



As SRM begins to fill QAMs in a Service Group, it load balances among the QAMs…

After all QAMs are filled to the point where the largest bandwidth (e.g. HD) would just fit, it then begins to fill QAMs one by one. It attempts to always maintain available contiguous bandwidth for the biggest streams.

It fills QAM 1 first... …then QAM 2… …and so on.

As sessions come and go… if load is high, it will fill the most full QAMs in order to preserve contiguous bandwidth.


If load is light, it will revert to balancing the load.


QAM Re-Assignment

• SDV Server is capable of re-mapping SDV sessions from a failed GQAM to an active GQAM feeding the same service group.

QAMs are load-balanced in light load conditions to minimize impact of outage

Availability improves with additional VOD/SDV carriers allocated

Priority is given to the streams with the most users

Q = Number of QAM ModulatorsBlue = Favorite Channels w/ 2 or more subs per channelGreen = Active QAM Carriers (demand)White = Inactive QAM Carriers (excess capacity)

d = Average demand per QAM

1-d = Average excess

capacity per

QAMf = % active chs

with >1 subs

QAM 1

QAM 2

QAM 3

QAM 4

SG1

SG2

SG3

SG4

FailedNormal Recovered

Fav

orite

chs

rem

appe

d fr

om fa

iled

QA

M to

exc

ess

capa

city

in r

emai

ning

QA

Ms.

Sin

gle

sub

chs

drop



capacity per

QAMf = % active chs

with >1 subs

SG1

SG2

SG3

SG4



capacity per

QAMf = % active chs

with >1 subs

SG1

SG2

SG3

SG4

Yellow = Failed (lost capacity)

Single Sub Channels Dropped (Type 2 Redundancy, 2.5 hrs outage time)


S-A Architecture Highlights

S-A / Cisco Benefits

Phase 2 Architecture Tested

Open architecture based on IP Multicast protocols and open interfaces to the QAM, Server, SDV Manager, and Client

QAM Sharing SDV and VOD sessions can share bandwidth, requiring less RF spectrum and equipment

Integrated Client Faster boot times, rapid Mini-carousel auto-discovery, and full visibility to all channel changes

Bulk Encryption Netcrypt support in DNCS 4.2 eliminates need to modulate/demodulate

IGMPv3 SSM Provides standards-based network and source redundancy

Multi-CBR and HD support Flexibility to optimize bandwidth utilization and

ability to offer new HD content on SDV tier


S-A Feature Highlights

S-A / Cisco Benefits

Single Management System SDV Manager provisions SDV servers and

Netcrypt from DNCS 4.2

Server Redundancy N:1 Auto Backup minimizes down-time during failure or maintenance

SDV Session Re-assignment Provides session resiliency in event of a QAM

failure

GQAM support Leverage installed GQAMs which are Phase 2 compatible with no need to upgrade hardware

Integrated VOD Encryption

Netcrypt not required in shared VOD/SDV environment since session based encryption is accomplished in the GQAM


© 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.Cisco ConfidentialCisco Days SDV 1 Switched Digital Video (SDV) Overview Robert Kidd Subscriber Network.

Documents

cisco systems

new hd channels

special channels

national channels

subscribers broadcast

hd mtv

niche networks

viewership dynamics